Manga horror master Junji Ito will make his first ever North American appearance at the Toronto Comics Arts Festival (TCAF) in May.
Ito will not only be a featured guest at the convention, but he is also the official poster artist for the 2019 festival. Ito broke into the professional manga world in 1987. Some of his iconic works include [easyazon_link identifier=”1421561328″ locale=”US” tag=”boundingintocomics-20″]Uzumaki[/easyazon_link], [easyazon_link identifier=”1421579154″ locale=”US” tag=”boundingintocomics-20″]Gyo[/easyazon_link], and [easyazon_link identifier=”1421590565″ locale=”US” tag=”boundingintocomics-20″]Tomie[/easyazon_link].
Ito will attend the TCAF to promote his upcoming short story collection [easyazon_link identifier=”1421598469″ locale=”US” tag=”boundingintocomics-20″]Smashed: Junji Ito Story Collection[/easyazon_link] that will be published by VIZ Media in April.
[easyazon_link identifier=”1421598469″ locale=”US” tag=”boundingintocomics-20″]Smashed: Junji Ito Story Collection[/easyazon_link] contains thirteen horror stories and is 416 pages long.
Here’s the official description:
“Try not to be noticed when you eat the secret nectar, otherwise you’ll get smashed… What horrific events happened to create the earthbound—people tied to a certain place for the rest of their short lives? Then, a strange haunted house comes to town, but no one expects it to lead to a real hell… Welcome to Junji Ito’s world, a world with no escape from endless nightmares.”
“Junji Ito is a truly amazing creator, and we’re so proud to welcome him the Canada,” said TCAF Artistic Director Christopher Butcher. Ito-sensei is a creator that we’d been hoping to feature at the Festival for more than a decade, he’s a personal favourite manga-ka of mine and of so many fans and comic creators. We’re so happy that he could find some time in his busy creative schedule to attend the Festival this year.”
“Ito-sensei’s work crosses so many traditional comics boundaries, and he has such a wide and enthusiastic audience for his work,” continues Butcher. “Whether it’s horror fans, comics fans, manga fans, or anime fans, there are so many people that count Ito among their favourite creators in the world, thanks to the omnipresence of his work across popular media including manga, film, and anime. I know that meeting Ito-sensei will be a treasured memory for many visitors to TCAF.”
Ito will participate in an on-stage interview, a live-drawing, ad special ticketed autograph sessions at TCAF. TCAF takes place on Saturday and Sunday May 11th and May 12th at Toronto Reference Library. Attendance is free with the exception of some ticketed events.
Along with his appearance at TCAF and the debut of his new horror collection, VIZ Media announced that Ito’s No Longer Human, which adapts Osamu Dazai’s work will be released this Fall.
The story follows Yozo Oba who plays the clown in his own dissolute life. He is plagued by a maddening anxiety which revolves around his idea of happiness and the joy of the rest of the world. He holds up a mask for those around him as life spirals downward in a an arm-in-arm dance with death.
Are you excited for Junji Ito to come to North America? Do you plan on attending TCAF?